Hello,
My title is correct. I am an absolute newbie at snowmaking. I live in Alabama, and we get enough natural snow to make a snowman about every five years. I would like to build a machine that will make enough snow to cover my front yard several times each winter. I have read several posts on this site, but there is almost too much information. What are the basics, and where do I look to find them?
Thanks,
Big Daddy

Just shot you an email. Looking forward to meeting you.

Bob

welcome to the southern snowmakers group. not to worry - bob in bama is a pro at this by now, but the rest of us will be glad to make sure that you're able to fulfill your wish, just ask questions anytime.

Well, 2paw, I'm not sure if North Cahlinah qualifies me for the Southern Snowmakers Group or not!?! I do know that Saranac Lake, NY, where I went to college for 2 years, was 33 below 0 this morning (actual temp., not wind-chill). If I ever move again, I'm goin' "souther" not "norther"!

Saranac lake has the coldest temp in this whole northern region. Berrrrrr We were at -21.2F this morning.

Yeah, when I went to school there, we never once had classes cancelled due to snow, even though we used to get a ton, but they did have to shut down more than a few times when it got that cold 'cause the old boilers couldn't keep up - same thing at Plattsburgh where I got my bachelor's. BBRrrrrrr is right!

bear, bachelor's degree..lol in what? bar tending?? lol uhh that brings images of your snowbar into my mind...

and that was a joke....

You southerners sure are dedicated. We should get a 2nd section of the website dedicated for southern snowmakers...Just like West coast or East coast...

Actually, my bachelor's is in Geology - was gonna be an oil man. But if I had gotten actual credits for the time I spent in bars while in college (the legal age was 18 back then) I figure I'd have like a "double Phd"! The geology is what got me into the ski biz - when I graduated in '81, it was one of the biggest oil busts in history - there were like 30,000 unemployed geologists between Denver and Huston. I handed out 650 resumes in 2 weeks in downtown Denver. I tried to get in to speak with as many as I could, and they all said to check back in the spring, so I headed up to Breck, and stayed there 8 years! I remember, I sent a copy of the Rocky Mt. News business section to my Dad - it said "FLASH - Major corporation is now hiring Geologists!" and underneath in small letters it said "It's Burger King!" So, here's to rocks!

Oh yeah, now that I think of it - The first day my buddy and I get to Denver (after 3 days across the country in my '73 VW bus), it's a beautiful Friday. So, we figure we'll just walk around downtown to get the "lay of the land" so we'll know where we're going to "attack" come Monday morning, because most of the downtown highrises are just packed with oil offices from top to bottom. So, it's around lunch time, and we're on the 16th Street mall (I think), and it's packed with business men and secretaries, out getting lunch. As we're walking along, I can see up ahead, through the crowd, this guy with his back to us playing a banjo, in a 3-piece suit. So, I'm like "that's cool, the guy must come out on his lunch hour to entertain the crowd". So we get around the front of him, and he's got the bajo case open, and a big sign that reads "Master's Degree in Geo-Physics from Dartmouth - PLEASE, take a resume!" And here we are, a couple dopes with Bachelor's degrees from SUNY Plattsbugh, going "what the heck have we done!?!" Like they say in the Guiness commercials - BRILLIANT!

Nice!! That's funny because my mom was an oil geologist! She worked in one of the high-rises in Denver for about 15 years! She was even there when an earthquake hit Denver, but luckily it was a small one. And, she quit the oil industry in '81! She worked for Mobil, Exxon (Before they joined) and other companies, and went to college at Middlebury, then Geneva. Back when she was in the oil industry, it was very, very male-dominated. Once, she was going to interview with a big oil company to be a field geologist, so she went into the reception area. The secretary, without even asking, gave her a card with questions such as, "How many words do you type per minute?" Finally, she got to see the boss, but as soon as she walked into his office, he said he wouldn't hire her. The reason? They had hired a woman geologist before, but she got fat in the field from eating too much, so they decided never to hire a woman geologist! Times have changed...

Another time, she was invited to play golf with one of the companies that sells field equipment to Mobil. The top exec, assuming she was a peon, asked her what she does for the company. She replied, "Oh well, I just signed a 50 million dollar contract with your company!" The guy, stunned, invited her to another round of golf the next day and a steak dinner! She has a lot of other interesting stories, but since this is already quite long, I'll stop here and do another story some other time. Wow, good thing I type quickly!
Have a nice sprign break, everyone!

Bear, you never tried again?

Well, during that 1st go 'round in the fall of '81, I got in to at least speak to probably 100 geologists, and kept a detailed contact list. A whole bunch of them gave me the same story - "Don't worry Bob, the same thing happened to me in '58, just give it 'til the spring when the new R & D money comes out and we'll get you on". Well, that next spring, I started calling all these 15 year guys, and always got 1 of 2 responses. Either "I'm sorry, he's been laid off" or "We're sorry that number is no longer in service". After that, I was having so much fun in the ski business and was working my up the ladder at Breckenridge, and I never looked back. But I'll never regret getting my degree in a science - throughout my whole life, there were jobs or promotions that I never would have even had a shot at (as silly as it seems to me now) if I hadn't had that degree.